The ashes of 2006 and some shoes

Welcome to 2007!

While we were busy downing some cava and turron and taking in some cabaret and Luis Tosar's Magical Brothers it seems the Chinese authorities preferred to burn some European shoes. Authorities in one city warmed their New Year up by burning a range of 'luxury' European shoes, apparently because their sizes didn't match Chinese standards.

This is another interesting round in the trade wars with Europe and the US, in this case a tit for tat response to Spanish shoe workers burning cheap Chinese shoe imports. The impact of China and the tensions of globalisation look set to continue as hot issues locally and globally in 2007. But of more interest this week will be the Reyes holiday and the start of the rebajas (sales). Happy shopping!